


Sleeping Landy

by MeansToOffend (goodmorning)



Series: 31 in 31: NHL Fairy Tales [2]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Colorado Avalanche, Fairy Tale Retellings, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-12-24 11:07:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12011430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodmorning/pseuds/MeansToOffend
Summary: “'I tell you that in his eighteenth year, the prince will pick up a hockey stick for the first time, and die at once!'”





	Sleeping Landy

The king and queen of Colorado had no children, although they wanted one very much. But one day, while the two of them were relaxing in the hot tub atop their palace, a nuthatch flew down and spoke to them.

“Fear not,” he said, “for your wish is soon to be granted, and you shall have a son, come what may.” And indeed, it happened just as the nuthatch had told them.

The king of Colorado was so overjoyed by the birth of the infant prince Gabe that he could not contain it, and so he held a great celebration. He wanted to invite all the thirteen great mages who lived in the kingdom of Colorado, but great mages refuse to eat except from plates of gold, and he only owned twelve such plates. So he invited twelve, and crossed his fingers that the thirteenth wouldn’t hear of it.

The twelve invited mages all came to the celebration, and as it came to an end they showered the prince with gifts. From Semyon, he received agility; from Nate, strength; from Mikko, beauty; and this continued on until Sven, the eleventh mage, granted him speed. Then, suddenly, the thirteenth mage arrived, tearing his way through a rift in space with the sound of a thunderclap.

“Why didn’t you invite me to your party?” he pouted, wrinkled face wrinkling further in his anger. “Because you didn’t invite me, I’m going to curse your crying brat!” For indeed, the infant prince had been wakened by the sound, and was crying quite loudly. “I tell you that in his eighteenth year, the prince will pick up a hockey stick for the first time, and die at once!” And, so saying, he ripped another screaming hole in space and departed.

But Matt, the twelfth and greatest of the mages, stepped forward. “I have not the power to counter such an evil destiny completely,” he said, and the spirits of the courts fell. “However, I can temper it somewhat: the prince will not die, but will sleep for a hundred years.”

The party naturally showed signs of breaking up at that point; the king ordered, with sorrow, that all hockey gear in the kingdom be destroyed, and allowed all to leave.

The prince grew, becoming a miraculous and noted beauty. One day, when he was just eighteen, the king and queen were called away on business. Having the castle to himself, he naturally began to explore it as thoroughly as he ever had. Though he had grown up in the castle, and knew all its nooks and crannies well, the prince nevertheless came at last upon a door he had never before noticed.

Overwhelmed with curiosity, Prince Gabe opened the door and descended the stair, shivering as the air grew colder. Just as he was about to turn around and fetch a sweater, the narrow stairway opened into a large room.

It was the loveliest rink the prince had ever seen, and he had seen many, for though hockey was banned in the kingdom of Colorado, skating was still a pastime for many. Investigating the rink, the prince espied a pair of skates on the bench in just his size, and he laced them up, intending to enjoy himself. But as he was to stand, he noticed a rack full of sticks. He picked one up to examine it…

At that very moment, the king and queen had returned from their trip, and though they called their son, they could not find him anywhere. As they began to worry, there was a soft ripple through the air, and everyone began to fall asleep. The horses dozed in their stalls, the birds nesting in the courtyard ceased their singing, and even the fires in the hearths froze. Inside the castle, time stood still.

And outside the castle, a great hedge of thorns grew up.

Many princes heard the tale of the beautiful prince, and sought to free him, but they could not pierce the hedge. Like some malevolent thing, it dragged them in and pierced them instead. And thus things continued for many long years, until none was willing to so much as look at the castle, or say the name of the one within.

But one day a young prince was travelling through the land, foolish but kind. After hearing the legend of the beautiful prince in the briar-enclosed castle, he could think of nothing else but attempting a rescue himself, despite all the warnings of those who lived nearby.

And so it was that Tyson, prince of Victoria, went forth to the castle. But when he walked there, a strange thing happened: where he walked, the thorns turned to roses, and he was able to pass through unharmed where none else had tread for a hundred years.

He entered the castle carrying their sweet scent with him, and explored the place from turret to cellar. He passed many sleeping people, from the king and queen themselves to the lowliest kitchen boy, but he did not see a hint of the prince. At last, though, he came upon a tiny door that opened on a long stairway. Down and down Prince Tyson went, until at last he reached his icy destination.

It was a lovely rink, all gilded corners and satin seats, but he quickly forgot all those things when he noticed the figure slumped on the bench, big head tipped back against the glass, whose golden hair rivalled the gold in the rink and whose face was more lovely than the finest satin. This, he knew without a doubt, must be the sleeping prince, and Tyson crossed to him at once. He was so amazed by the beauty of Sleeping Landy that he could not help but kiss him.

Prince Gabe’s eyes fluttered open. “Who are you? When did you get here?” he asked. “And, more importantly, what is this stick?”

This was how, as the rest of the castle opened their eyes and resumed the lives that had been paused a hundred years before, as the king and queen rushed around looking for their wayward son, Prince Tyson of Victoria taught Prince Gabe of Colorado all about the game of hockey.

And they lived long and happy lives.

**Author's Note:**

> \- These two and the Valentine's Day thing have stuck with me for a while.  
> \- If there's a clear-cut villain in any of these I'm using Bettman because it's easiest.  
> \- I think, at this point, I know which story I'm using for each team. This is a relief.  
> \- Less of a relief: a hurricane is coming. If I fall off the earth due to power loss I'll just have to make up whatever days I miss :)


End file.
